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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24211558">Protectors</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/molmcmahon/pseuds/molmcmahon'>molmcmahon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Female Harry Potter Femslash Pairings [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Tortall - Tamora Pierce</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Don't copy to another site, F/F, Female Harry Potter, Gen, Pre-Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:20:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,729</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24211558</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/molmcmahon/pseuds/molmcmahon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hariel Potter and her daughter arrive in a strange world only to be uprooted again when Scanra attacks Tortall.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keladry of Mindelan/Harry Potter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Female Harry Potter Femslash Pairings [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1333249</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>139</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Protectors</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I don't own either HP or any Tortall books. They belong to JK Rowling and Tamora Pierce respectively.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>                       </p><p> </p><p>The horn sounded throughout the camp and Kel’s heart started to race in her chest. She dropped her fork and hurried out of headquarters, meeting Toby at a run. He handed her her glaive and mail armor as they ran to the wall and up the stairs. </p><p>She could already hear Neal shouting orders in the infirmary and the group of refugee children race into the stables to ready horses for the soldiers. Kel pulled on her armor, pulling her tunic over her mail and took the spyglass from Sergeant Connac. He pointed to the north, where they could see a cloud of dirt on the horizon. Dirt that had been kicked up by horses. She shielded her eyes as best she could from the sun and the clouds helped a little in that regard. They moved in front of the sun momentarily, letting her see the much tinier cloud of dirt ahead of the Scanrans. </p><p>The enemy was clearly here, numbering about three squads of men and yet...</p><p>“Sergeant, do you see what I see?” Kel yelled over the din of men getting ready to fight.</p><p>“If you see more refugees, Lady Knight, then yes!”</p><p>Kel winced and watched as the group of ten or so people rode hard towards Haven’s gate. It was a ragged bunch, no more than a twenty people grouped tightly together. There was what looked to be one wagon amidst the group, pulled by two oxen. The group itself seemed to be led by a young woman and Kel studied the group before turning to look at Tobe. </p><p>“I’ll get him for ya,” Tobe said, before racing off back down the stairs and to the stables. </p><p>“That boy is a mind reader,” Connac muttered.</p><p>Kel nodded, her mind already on the battle ahead, and wishing they still had Numair with them. Or even Daine the Wildmage but they would make do. She met Tobe on the ground, Peachblossom saddled and ready for the fight next to him. The strawberry roan gelding snorted and pawed the ground as Kel whistled to the men. Jump barked at her side, growling, as he faced the gates. The sparrows flitted around her quick as arrows and Nari flew over to land on her shoulder.</p><p>“Tobe, go get Neal! He’s in charge while I’m out!” Kel shouted, clutching her glaive in hand.</p><p>“Yes’m,” Tobe said, already racing back over to the infirmary, dodging men around him. </p><p>Another horn blew from outside the camp, Merric telling Kel he had heard the enemy approach. The men around her mounted their horses and Kel made a note to praise the children for their timely saddling of the horses then took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.</p><p>“Open the gates!” Kel shouted, hearing the sounds of battle outside as Merric’s men engaged the enemy. </p><p>The wooden and metal gates squealed but opened without a flaw, leaving enough space for two horses to pass. Kel raised her hand and signaled for a charge.</p><p>Horses whinnied and went from a standstill to a canter and then to a gallop in a heartbeat, charging out through the gates. Kel led her men through the gate and down the hill, over the bridge and passed by the refugee party, meeting bright, vivid green eyes briefly before continuing on.</p><p>The whoops and hollers of the Scanran men filled the air and Kel’s men collided with the enemy head on. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Kel pulled her glaive out of a man’s chest with a wet squelch, the blade wet with the man’s blood, and held on as Peachblossom reared, kicking out at a man who tried to pull Kel off his saddle. Jump leapt at another man and brought him down, pulling him off his horse. The dog’s teeth were already coated with blood as he attacked. The sparrows attacked yet another man, flitting around the man’s head and pecking him in the eyes.</p><p>Yells filled the air as men fought for their lives and Kel urged Peachblossom on with a light squeeze. Her warhorse pivoted and kicked out with his hind legs at another Scanran soldier, eliciting a pained shout.</p><p>It was over fast and Kel and her animals stood there, some panting while Kel breathed heavily. Her glaive was coated in blood and there was blood splatter on her armor. The sparrows all flitted around, some landing on Kel while others flew over the battlefield.</p><p>Merric rode over, his sword in hand. His men stood beside him, some ahorse while others stood on the ground. They had lost one, perhaps two, Kel could already tell as she looked them over.</p><p>“Permission to search the forest?” Merric questioned as he continued to catch his breath.</p><p>Kel paused and glanced up to Nari, the lead sparrow. “Scout the river.”</p><p>Nari chirped and three sparrows raced down to the river, rounded a bend. Two minutes later, they flew back, chirping loudly, their eyes wide, their feathers standing up. Jump snarled and backed up, almost running into Peachblossom. Kel flinched, remembering the last time the birds were this frightened and turned to Merric.</p><p>Merric had gone pale himself and then signaled to his men. “Kel, your orders?”</p><p>“Retreat back to camp,” Kel yelled, already turning Peachblossom around. “Merric, sound your horn. Retreat!”</p><p>Merric and his men galloped back to the bridge and Kel and her squad picked up the rear. </p><p>“Jump! Come!”</p><p>Jump charged ahead, still growling low in his throat, and the sparrows followed. </p><p>The refugee group was still beyond the gate quite a ways and Kel swallowed, even as the loud, familiar thunks echoed throughout the air. She grimaced and pulled Peachblossom around, facing the killing device. This one was slower than the others</p><p>“Kel!” Merric shouted.</p><p>“Get the refugees inside!” Kel yelled back, dismounting from Peachblossom’s back and planting her feet in the ground. </p><p>Running sounded behind her, footsteps over the wooden bridge, and then someone stopped next to her.</p><p>“Lady knight, your orders?”</p><p>She spared a quick glance to the woman next to her, taking in the very same green eyes she had passed by and long, messy black hair. Her accent was strange and foreign, not at all Tortallan. Her clothes even less so but the tunic that encased the woman’s torso was red, a lion rearing on it.</p><p>“You don’t have a weapon,” Kel hissed, hitting the woman lightly on her shoulder with the butt of her glaive. “Stupid. Get back behind the soldiers.”</p><p>“I am a weapon,” the woman retorted, rubbing her shoulder. “How do you fight these things?”</p><p>Kel stared at the woman next to her, the woman who looked perhaps four years older than her. She noted the scar on the young woman’s forehead and then turned to look at the killing device, the metal creature that King Maggur had sent multiple numbers of into Tortall.</p><p>“Kel!”</p><p>Merric and his men flanked them, back with the special ropes that they had made specifically for this.</p><p>More men from Scanra appeared a mile away, in the underbrush of the forest, and then the woman next to her made a noise in her throat.</p><p>“I’ll take the soldiers,” the woman whispered, tapping Kel on her armored shoulder. “You take the killing device. I won’t have my friends or my daughter slaughtered.”</p><p>Kel didn’t even have time to argue as the killing device charged towards them. She sent up a prayer to any god that was listening to protect the reckless woman and then turned to the device, helping Merric’s men tie it up but good.</p><p>The ropes had metal woven into them and Kel ran back and forth around the device, staying out of the way of its knife hands. One of the device’s knife fingers decapitated a man and then Kel threw her portion of the ropes over the thing’s head, watching as Jump took another end of the rope. The sparrows flittered between the device's hands, careful to not get in the way of the metal blades.</p><p>Men shouted and yelled as they weighted the device down. Kel stood in front of the device, breathing heavily as the metal device struggled between them. </p><p>“Keep it steady!” Kel yelled, holding onto the rope in her hands and carefully, cautiously walked towards it. She had to kill it but how was she going to… The thing was tall and she was tall herself but she couldn’t reach that height.</p><p>Together with her men, they forced it down to the ground, the ropes looped around the thing’s head and hands. The metal groaned and the device struggled against the ropes and Kel walked right up to it and thrust her glaive down into the domed sphere that was its head. A crack appeared in the thick glass but it wasn’t enough to crack it fully open so she thrust the butt of her weapon down into it again.</p><p>The glass cracked open and shattered down onto the ground, letting the spirit that fueled it out. “Mama?”</p><p>Kel shivered and stood there, breathing heavily, only now remembering the young woman who had come alongside her. She turned to look around as Peachblossom cantered over to her, her eyes narrowing and then widening at the sight in front of her. </p><p>The young woman stood in the center of the field, surrounded by bodies. Kel jumped up onto Peachblossom’s saddle and told him to trot ahead, picking her way through the battlefield. Jump followed her, along with Nari and two other sparrows.</p><p>She told Peachblossom to canter and they rode over to the young woman. Kel’s eyes widened as she took in the bodies around the other young woman, seeing no marks, no signs of cause of death. </p><p>The woman herself wasn’t breathing heavily at all. The only mark of battle was the dirt on her face and the occasional splatter of blood on her tunic. Her hair had only grown more wild during the fight and Kel’s heart skipped a beat the sight. She couldn’t have been older than 20.</p><p>“What’s your name?” Kel finally questioned, her throat parched and her voice dry. </p><p>“Hariel Potter. Friends call me Harrie.”</p><p>“You’re a mage.”</p><p>Hariel Potter finally looked up at her, her green eyes bleak and haunted, and dipped her head in a nod. </p><p>“I was hoping for a mage,” Kel offered, raising an eyebrow. </p><p>“Kel, they’re in!” Merric yelled over. “You’re the last one out!”</p><p>“You’ve got one now,” Hariel remarked dryly, meeting her eyes easily enough. There was a flush to her cheeks and Kel wondered what the woman was thinking. “What’s your name?”</p><p>“Keladry of Mindelan. We can sort through details inside,” Kel said, holding out a hand. “Peachblossom, behave.”</p><p>The gelding whickered but otherwise didn’t comment.</p><p>“Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan. Lady knight, huh?”</p><p>Kel shook her head and lightly thumped Hariel on her shoulder with the butt of her glaive again. “Come on.”</p><p>“I was a Lady once upon a time,” Hariel muttered, before reaching up and taking Kel’s hand. “Didn’t much care for it.”</p><p>Kel rolled her eyes and hefted the young woman up, settling her in front. Warmth bloomed between them and Kel shivered again, shrugging the sensation off and tucking it away for future thought.</p><p>“Too much politics,” Hariel continued as Kel urged Peachblossom into a trot as they rode back over the bridge and then through the gates of Haven. “Saving people. Now that’s wonderful. You seem to have a lot of strays with you.”</p><p>Kel blinked and looked out around her camp as the gates closed behind them. Hariel dismounted quickly enough, her eyes gone all wide and frantic. </p><p>“Lily!”</p><p>“Kel!”</p><p>She turned to look at Neal as he stood by the new refugee party, looking everyone over. She watched as Hariel met a charging five year old girl and scooped her up, hugging her tightly. The girl had the same messy hair as Hariel had but the color was a silvery blond shade, long for a five year old.</p><p>“How many?” Kel questioned, turning to watch as the refugees milled about. </p><p>Her men all lead their horses back to the stables while some men walked straight to the infirmary, hobbling there with injured legs or otherwise. </p><p>“22 in all,” Neal remarked, gesturing to Zamiel, their head clerk. </p><p>A loud hiss came from the wagon as some of Kel’s men opened up the leather over the door of it.</p><p>“Oh!” Hariel called over, walking over to the wagon and stopping in front of it. Her daughter clung to her side, giggling a little bit. “I’ll deal with him in there.”</p><p>“Him?” Kel echoed, blinking in dismay..</p><p>“Buckbeak’s funny about the people he lets touch him,” Hariel explained, her eyes narrowed with exasperation. “Seems a little touched in the head if you ask me.”</p><p>Another loud hiss filled the air and Hariel rolled her eyes. “Beaky, we’re fine. There aren’t any more arrows. Let me help you out.”</p><p>“Beaky?” Neal stage whispered. “Sounds a little like you know who.”</p><p>Kel snorted and glanced pointedly to Peachblossom, who turned away, trying to look all innocent.</p><p>They all watched as Hariel turned her back to them and stepped into the wagon. The other refugees followed the soldier that was there to guide them to the longhouses, some of them gone quiet with shock and relief. </p><p>The creature that Hariel led out was nothing Kel had ever seen, her eyes widening. It was… half horse and half… eagle, with the head of an eagle and the body of a horse. And wings. Wings which were bound to its sides with what looked like cloth bandages.</p><p>“He won’t be any trouble,” Hariel offered quietly, peering over to Kel. “Assuming I can keep him with me?”</p><p>“Neal, we have a mage now,” Kel finally remembered, turning to look at her friend. </p><p>Neal blinked and turned to look at the young woman. “Mage?”</p><p>“Yeah. Mage… witch. Whatever you want to call it, that’s me,” Hariel said, running a hand through her hair. “You’re a mage too?”</p><p>“Healer. Some battle magic but not much,” Neal offered, his eyes widening.</p><p>“I can heal but I’m…”</p><p>“You said you were a weapon,” Kel remarked, looking Hariel over. “What did you mean by that?”</p><p>“That… is a long story,” Hariel said, staring at Kel before sighing and scooping up her daughter. “Where are me and my people staying?”</p><p>“You can have the spare room in headquarters,” Kel responded, gesturing to the building where she lived. She already knew that most of the refugees wouldn’t be easy living with if they knew a mage was living amongst them. Especially one who could kill as easily as Hariel apparently could.</p><p>“I don’t want to be any trouble,” Hariel murmured.</p><p>“I want you with me,” Kel ordered. “It’s easier that way for command. Tobe!”</p><p>Tobe raced over and stood by her, already reaching for Peachblossom’s reins. “I’ll take Buckbeak too.”</p><p>Hariel blinked and stared at the boy, looking between him and the strange half horse, half eagle creature. “He’s not…”</p><p>Tobe walked over with Peachblossom and reached out for the lead rope that connected to a circle of rope around… Buckbeak’s neck. Buckbeak clearly hesitated before letting Tobe take the rope and lead him out.</p><p>“Mind his wings!” Hariel called over as they watched Tobe lead the pair away. “They’re injured!”</p><p>“That animal can fly?” Kel questioned.</p><p>“Yeah, he can,” Hariel said, resettling her daughter so that her head rested on her shoulder. “Are you sure, Lady Kel?”</p><p>“Yes, I am. If you can fight, you’re with me,” Kel offered, as she led the way to headquarters. “Haven needed a mage. Did her father die?”</p><p>Hariel sighed and stroked her daughter’s back. “He died protecting me before Lily was born. Thank you for giving us shelter.”</p><p>Kel turned and stopped as they reached headquarters. She studied the young woman in front of her. “I will need to know everything you can do so I can plan.”</p><p>“Very well. I don’t think I’m like other mages here but sure.”</p><p>Kel raised an eyebrow at that comment. “What do you mean by that?”</p><p>“I’m… not from around here,” Hariel offered, shrugging and yawning. “Don’t be alarmed if someone comes to wake me up and they find a panther. That’s all I’m saying.”</p><p>Kel blinked at the woman’s words.</p><p>Hariel grinned a little and Kel continued to stare.</p>
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